A young and successful manager was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar.

As his car passed a park, one child appeared, and a brick smashed into the Jaguar's side door. He stopped the car very suddenly and drove the Jag back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. He jumped out of the car, grabbed some kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what on earth are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"

"Please, sir, please, I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do!" begged the youngster. "It's my brother," he said. "He fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump(隆起的肿块)in his throat.He lifted the young mail back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes(擦痕)and cuts, checking to see if everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you, sir. And God bless you, "the grateful child said to him. The man then watched the little boy push his brother to the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to his Jaguar... a long, slow walk. He never did repair the side door. He kept the dent(凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.

Life whispers in your soul and speaks to your heart. Sometimes, when you don't have the time to listen... Life throws a brick at your head.

It's your choice: Listen to the whispers of your soul or wait for the brick!

1.What happened when the manager's car passed a park?

A. A boy ran out to ask for help.

B. A brick hit his car at the side door.

C. A boy's brother fell off his wheelchair.

D. A boy was playing with a brick by the roadside.

2.Why did the manager never repair the dent?

A. He forgot about it soon.

B. He couldn't afford to pay for the repairs.

C. He didn't care about his car as it was.

D. He wanted to keep it as a reminder.

3.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A. Life Throws a Brick at Your Head

B. Be Careful of the Brick on the Way.

C. A Misfortune Happened to a Manager

D. How a Boy Gave the Manager a Lesson

Too many people want others to be their friends,but they don’t give friendship back.That is why some friendships don’t last very long.To have a friend,you must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you.Learning to be a good friend means learning three rules:be honest;be generous(宽宏大量的);be understanding.

Honesty is where a good friendship starts.Friends must be able to trust one another.If you do not tell the truth,people usually find out.If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest,you may lose your friend’s trust.Good friends always rely on one another to speak and act honestly.

Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow.You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes.Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings.These can be very valuable to a friend.They tell your friend what is important to you.By sharing them,you help your friend know better.

Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem.Something may go wrong at school.Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve.Turning to a friend can be a first step in solving the problem.So to be a friend you must listen and understand.You must try to put yourself in your friend’s place so that you can understand the problem better.

No two friendships are exactly alike(相同的).But all true friendships have three things in common.If you plan to keep your friends,you must practice honesty,generosity and understanding.

1.Some friendships don’t last long because .

A. there are too many people who want to make friends

B. those who give others friendship receive friendship from others

C. some people receive friendship but don’t give friendship back

D. they don’t know friendship is something serious

2.According to the passage,honesty is .

A. something countable

B. the base of friendship

C. as important as money

D. more important than anything else

3.In the third paragraph,the underlined word “They” refers to .

A. generosity and friendship

B. generosity and sharing

C. your ideas and feelings

D. your clothes

4.The best title of this passage is .

A. How to Be a Friend

B. Honesty Is the Best Policy

C. A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed

D. Three Important Points in Life

I am a working woman with a secret life: I keep house.An off-an-on lawyer and professor in public,in private I launder and clean,cook and devote serious time and energy to a domestic(家务的)routine,not so different from my grandmothers did as "housewives."When I want a good read,I reach for my collection of old housekeeping handbooks.I enjoy housekeeping and the comforts it provides.

I have almost entirely hidden this passion for housekeeping though I am writing a long story about it.No one meeting me for the first time would doubt that I spend my time knitting and remembering household facts.I knew I would not want this information about me to get around.After all,I belong to the first generation of the women who worked more than they stayed home.

Being viewed as over domestic can get you socially ostracized.When I made hand-rolled pasta(意大利面)for a dinner,I learned the hard way that some guests will find this annoying,as they do not feel comfortable eating a meal that they regard as the product of too much trouble.When my son was in nursery school,I made the mistake of spending a few hours sewing for him a Halloween dressing,receiving hard stares of many fellow parents who had bought a Batman or Esmeralda costume.Many times my courage in writing the story failed me when painful silences followed my confession(坦白)about the long book,"NO,not a history of housework,an explanation of it—a practical book on how you make the bed and make a comfortable home."I managed to hold on partly because not everyone responded with that stare;there was support as well.And I was struck that no one responded with coldness.The topic was clearly hot-too hot for some people to handle,heartwarming to others.

1.What makes the author enjoy housekeeping?

A. The joy and comfort from housekeeping.

B. Her wish to be different from others.

C. The influence of her grandmothers.

D. Her love to her family.

2.Which is closest in meaning to the underlined word in Paragraph 3?

A. Interested. B. Rejected.

C. Accepted. D. Concerned.

3.We can learn that the author .

A. gives up writing her story at times B. does housekeeping as her full job

C. receives some unfair treats D. thinks her book useful to all

WHAT can help you make a fortune in the future? Graduating from a top university might not be enough. A new study from the University of Essex in Britain has shown that the more friends you have in school, the more money you’ll earn later.

The idea that popularity could have a serious influence on one’s earning potential shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The researchers noted that if you want to get ahead in life, social skills and networking are easily as powerful as talent and hard work.

“If a person has lots of friends, it means that he or she has the ability to get along with others in all kinds of different situations,” said Xu Yanchun, 17, from Nantou High School in Shenzhen, who totally agreed with the recent finding. “Also, friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but lift your mood when you are occasionally in low spirits,” said Xu. She believed that all this helps you “earn a higher salary.”

Maybe that’s why some people think the younger generations are in the age of Friendalholism (交友狂症). A woman even complained that the networking website Facebook’s 5,000-friend limit was too low for her large reserve of social contacts.

But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency?

“Call me uncool, but I think of a friend as an actual person with whom I have an actual history and whom I enjoy actually seeing. It seems, however, that this is no longer the definition of friend”, said Meghan Daum, who works with The Los Angeles Times in the US.

Daum dislikes the idea that quantity trumps quality in the age of Friendaholism. She thought the idea of friendship, at least among the growing population of Internet social networkers, was to get as many of not-really-friends as possible. For example, a friend might be someone you might know personally but who could just as easily be the friend of a friend of some other Facebook friend you don’t actually know. Although she agreed that social ties grease (润滑) the wheels of life, she also warned. “Too bad one thing money can’t buy is a real friend.”

1.What will be needed if you are to achieve success according to the researchers?

A. Social skills, friends, good mood and fortune.

B. Social skills, networking, talent and hard work.

C. Social skills, networking, potential and fortune.

D. Social skills, talent, hard work and the facebook.

2.What can friends do in the eyes of Xu Yanchun?

A. They can help you with your schoolwork.

B. They teach you how to make more money.

C. They help you get rid of sadness and cheer up.

D. They always get on well with you.

3.We learn that Meghan Daum’s attitude towards friends is somewhat _______.

A. up-to-date B. optimistic

C. confused D. traditional

4.What does the word “trumps” in the last paragraph mean?

A. is better than B. is equal to

C. is worse than D. is similar to

I woke up the other day to a phone call from a taxi driver. He had my friend’s cell phone, and told me that my friend had ______ it in the cab the night before.

It was a rainy ______, which for cab drivers is a very busy time. The cab driver asked where he could ______ the cell phone off. I told him the cross ______ where I lived. I quickly got dressed and told him that I’d ______ him on the comer of the street.

The driver drove all the ______ from Queens to deliver the phone without ______. When I met up with him, I ______ and blessed him for having such a kind and beautiful ______. I was so happy for my ______ because of this man’s kindness! My friend had ______ moved here and I could only imagine how ______ his cell phone was to him! I further asked the taxi driver if I could get his ______, so that my friend can thank him as well. He said my ______ and gratitude were all that he needed and drove off.

I emailed my friend telling him I had his ______ and later that day I met up with him to tell him how I had ______ it. My friend said he couldn’t believe such kindness should ______ in this big city. He told me he could not ______ to pay it forward.

I was so ______ to see the kindness that happened early that morning. It just made my ______!

1.A. hid B. left C. forgot D. missed

2.A. morning B. night C. afternoon D. evening

3.A. throw B. give C. put D. drop

4.A. hotel B. town C. street D. city

5.A. pay B. meet C. exchange D. call

6.A. time B. distance C. way D. trip

7.A. delay B. permit C. support D. request

8.A. rewarded B. talked C. greeted D. thanked

9.A. figure B. cab C. soul D. idea

10.A. decision B. friend C. luck D. deed

11.A. lastly B. finally C. recently D. hurriedly

12.A. important B. popular C. expensive D. lovely

13.A. honor B. permission C. photo D. information

14.A. help B. blessing C. attitude D. concern

15.A. address B. letter C. message D. phone

16.A. bought B. searched C. got D. kept

17.A. wait B. exist C. react D. allow

18.A. wait B. quit C. hope D. expect

19.A. annoyed B. shocked C. surprised D. touched

20.A. day B. dream C. example D. story

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